BEIJING: China said on Tuesday it would take unspecified necessary measures” after the US government imposed trade sanctions on 11 companies it says are implicated in human rights abuses in China’s Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The sanctions add to US pressure on Beijing over Xinjiang, where the ruling Communist Party is accused of mass detentions, forced labour, forced birth control and other abuses against Muslim minorities. Xinjiang is among a series of conflicts including human rights, trade and technology that have caused US-Chinese relations to plunge to their lowest level in decades.

The Trump administration also has imposed sanctions on four Chinese officials over the accusations. Beijing responded by announcing unspecified penalties on four US senators who are critics of its human rights record.

Three of the companies cited on Monday were identified by investigations by The Associated Press in 2018 and 2020 as being implicated in forced labour. One company, Nanchang O-Film Tech, supplies screens and lenses to Apple, Samsung and other technology companies. AP reporters found employees from Xinjiang at its factory in the southern city of Nanchang weren’t allowed out unaccompanied and were required to attend political classes.

US customs authorities seized a shipment from the second company, Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories, on suspicion it was made by forced labour. People who worked for the third, Hetian Taida, which produces sportswear sold to US universities and sports teams, told AP detainees were compelled to work there.

The Department of Commerce said the addition of the 11 companies to its Entity List will limit their access to US goods and technology. It gave no details of what goods might be affected.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2020